Conference That Plans The Demise Of Israel Set For Tel Aviv: Realizing The Return Of Palestinian Refugees

29-30.9.2013

VENUE

Eretz Israel Museum, Tel Aviv – The Rothschild Auditorium, 2 Haim Levanon street, Tel Aviv.

conference will take place in the area of the village Shaykh Muwannis, which was located there till the Nakba

The conference is made possible thanks to the generous support of: Misereor, Christian Aid, HEKS-EPER, CCFD, Finn Church Aid, Broederlijk Delen, AFSC, Rosa Luxemburg Foundation, Mennonite Central Committee, Trocaire, St. Het Solidariteitsfonds, Oxfam GB and private donors.

Sunday, September 29th

10:00 Registration

10:30 Opening Remarks

10:45 Key note speaker: Transitional Justice Responses to Palestinian Dispossession: Focus on Restitution /Leila Hilal – Director, Middle East Task Force, New America Foundation.

11:30 Coffee Break

11:45 Transitional Justice in Israel-Palestine:Return as an Act of Justice Chair: Leila Hilal – Director, Middle East Task Force, New America Foundation.- The Right to Refuse: Abject Theory and the Return of Palestinian Refugees / Prof. Dan Rabinowitz – Tel-Aviv University.- Reconciliation in Peace Agreements: The Geneva Initiative as aTest Case / Yoav Kapshuk – PhD Candidate, Tel-Aviv University.- Transitional Justice in Serbia: False Reconciliation /Marijana Toma – Humanitarian Law Center (HLC), Serbia.- Forced displacement in the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict,International Law and Potential Remedies / Munir Nuseibah -PhD, University of Westminster in London, Director at Al-Quds Human Rights Clinic.13:30 Lunch Break

14:30 State, Regime and Space: Return Where?Chair: Salman Natour – Author and Playwright, Daliet Al-Karmel- Imagining the Future: Towards a Binational State in Palestine-Israel and a Multicultural Regional Confederation /Prof. Jeff Halper – Founder and Coordinator of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD).- Transitioning towards full equality and return /Allegra Pacheco – Lawyer, Columbia Law School, work in the west bank, live in Bethlehem.- Looking Back, Looking Forward: Transitional Justice,Comprehensive Plans of Action and Palestinian Refugees /Terry Rempel – PhD, Exeter University (UK).

15:45 Coffee Break

16:00 Continues – State, Regime and Space: Return Where?- The Right of Return: Reversing Ethnic Cleansing /Dr. Salman H. Abu Sitta – Founder and President of the Palestine Land Society (PLS), London.- Return as the Key for a One-State Solution / The Jaffa Group for One Democratic State- Multilingualism as a Model for Post-Utopian Multi-Existentialism /Dr. Aïm Deüelle Lüski – Tel-Aviv University, Philosopher and Artist.- Society of Peace is Possible – in Israel/Palestine: A Proposal for a New Political Order / Dr. Erella Shadmi – Radical feminist, peace and anti-racism activist and scholar living in Israel. Q&A

17:40 Coffee Break

18:00 Strategies for Promoting Return: The Challenge Faced by Palestinian and Israeli Societies and the International Community Chair: Liat Rosenberg – Director of Zochrot.- The Responsibility of Palestinian Society and Organizations to Realize the Right of Return / Khulood Badawi – Palestinian civilrights activist, Nazareth.- Civil Society: promoting refugee rights and countering collective inertia / William Bell – Christian Aid, UK.- Strategies and Recommendations for Israeli NGOs on Realizing Return and Promoting Justice / BADIL – Resource Center for Palestinian Residency & Refugee Rights, Bethlehem.- The Return as a Demon: How to Cope with the Israeli Dread /Gidon Levy – Journalist, Tel Aviv. Q&A

19:45 End of day Monday, September 30th

9:30 Registration

10:00 Opening Lecture: Former Palmach Fighter on Return of the Palestinian Refugees – Amnon Neumann.

10:30 Return Now! Reports from the Field Chair: Orwa Switat – Urban planner and Organizational consultant, Haifa.- Returning to Gaza / Munir Nuseibah – PhD, University of Westminster in London and Director at Al-Quds Human Rights Clinic.- Returning to Iqrit / A representative of the Iqrit returnees.- Returning to Mi’ar / Mi’ar Group for the Vision of return.

11:30 Coffee Break

11:45 Continues – Return Now! Reports from the Field- Returning to Mi’ar / Michal Ran – Ph.D Candidate,University of Chicago.- Returning to al-Ruis /Ibraheem Abu al-Hayja- Refugee from al-Ruis and Michal Ran – Ph.D Candidate, University of Chicago.- Returning to al-‘Araqib /A representative of the al-‘Araqib returnees.- Returning to al-Lajun / al-Lajun Group for the Vision of return. Q&A

13:00 Lunch Break

14:00 Return Now? From Political Consciousness to Planning the Return Chair: Eitan Bronstein – Zochrot- The right of return in Palestinian political consciousness in Israel /Areej Sabbagh-Khoury – PhD Candidate, Tel-Aviv University, and Prof. Nadim N. Rouhana – Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy, Tufts University in Boston, Founding director of Mada al-Carmel. – Return(s) in the oral histories of the Palestinian exiles /Dominika Blachnicka – PhD Candidate, University of London.- Map of Return: Planning the Space of Return and Challenges Facing the Public Campaign / Orwa Switat – Urban planner and Organizational consultant, Haifa.- al-Lajun – Between Memory and Innovation: Planning and Demonstration of the Reconstructed Village Center /Shadi Habib-Allah – Architect, Ein Mahal.- Respondent / Dr. Haim Yacobi – Architect and planner, Head of the MA Program in Urban Design, Bezalel, Jerusalem. Q&A

16:00 Coffee Break

16:30 From Vision to Reality: Towards a New SocietyChair: Jumana Abo Oxa – Independent Consultant on Transitional Justice, Mi’liya.- Return and compensation Tracks and second occupant as case study / Noa Levi – Lawyer and a graduate student,Tel-Aviv University.- Two Steps Forward: Return as a Necessity and a Dream /Ami Asher – Translator and Editor, Member of Zochrot, Jaffa- The theoretical problems of education for a culture of return /Roi Silberberg – Political educator, PhD Candidate, Haifa University.- The approach that is needed to end the colonial nature of Israel and in order to achieve justice and return / BADIL – Resource Center for Palestinian Residency & Refugee Rights, Bethlehem.Q&A

18:10 Coffee Break

18:30 Round Table: Speakers do not Cut Corners /Mediator: Umar al-Ghubari – Landscape & Space, Zochrot.

20:00 launching a new book of Sedek – ‘Awda’ Playback performance – Imagining the Return / Kartoshkes Ensemble

22:00 End of conference